1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a foldable package for retaining multiple sutures.
2. Background of the Art
Packaging of surgical needles and sutures requires that the needles be secured properly to prevent displacement, as well as being simply and quickly removable from their packages for use by the surgeon. Jarring and displacement of such sharp needles will tend to dull their edges and reduce their effectiveness while increasing trauma to the patient during use.
Also, it is desirable to package the needle-suture combinations in a manner where they are sufficiently separated for ready access to the user when they are needed. Moreover, the suture packages must be capable of receiving and holding sutures of various sizes while generally not effecting the quality, shape or strength of the suture in any way.
Various types of suture packages are known. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,896,767 to Pinheiro discloses a three-panel suture retaining package possessing two suture mounting panels and one intermediate panel. Plastic foam strips extending across the suture mounting panels are provided with slots for holding a plurality of needle-suture combinations. Each suture mounting panel has a cover flap which folds over to enclose the needle display area.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,572,363 to Alpern discloses a foldable suture retainer for multi-strand sutures providing for single strand delivery of the sutures from the retainer. The retainer has flaps (see items 44, 45, 46 in FIG. 4) which fold over to form separate compartments, each compartment holding a double armed suture (i.e., a suture with a needle at both ends). The needles are held in slits in a foam pad.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,533,041 and 4,491,218 to Aday disclose multi-strand suture packages for individually dispensing sutures. The suture packages each have rectangular panels foldably connected to each other for retaining sutures.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,421,231 to McCarn discloses a display and storage package for an elongated flat article, such as a thread and yarn organizer. Individual samples of yarn are wound around flat strips which are stored in elongated pockets. The pockets have inwardly directed projections for retaining the flat strip within the pocket until the end of the flat strip is moved around as end projection.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,391,365 to Batchelor discloses a single dispensing multiple suture package which includes a plurality of cards for separately containing a plurality of sutures. The package possesses a foam strip with slits for holding the armed ends of the sutures.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,135,623 to Thyen discloses a three panel folded construction providing two suture mounting panels. Across its width each suture mounting panel is provided at the upper end with a foam strip having slits for securing the armed ends of the sutures. Each panel can accommodate more than one armed suture.
In general, a most significant objective in suture packaging is to store and maintain the relatively delicate ligatures in some form of spaced relation to each other so that access and removal of the suture may be readily available without adversely affecting the ligature or the needle as noted hereinabove. The present invention is directed to a suture package wherein a plurality of sutures may be stored in a single package while maintaining the individuality of each suture with respect to the others.